Peony Care

Guidelines For Peony Care

Peony care includes several areas of consideration before you begin. You are going to want to fully understand the sun requirements as well as the best time to plant the peony. Take notes related to the amount and type of care that it will need in the spring and fall. If you are going to take the time to plant a peony you are going to want it to survive and thrive. This article will briefly explain some of these tips so that you are prepared to help your plant reach its fullest potential.

The best location for your peony is going to be a location that will get anywhere from a half a days sun to a full days sun. You will also need to select a location that has well drained soil. Next, you are going to need to determine when you should plant it. It is best to carry out this task in the fall. This is especially true if you are planting it with bare roots. This plant is going to grow out of the soil with buds that are ready to bloom. You are going to find that it is very exciting to watch your peony go through this process.

When you plant the peony, you are not going to want to have any more than two inches of soil over the growing eyes of the plant. Once the plant has been placed into the ground you are going to need to keep it fertilized. You will use a tulip or daffodil fertilizer. Use this before and after the peony blooms. If you decide to use a different type of fertilizer, you are going to want to purchase one that has low levels of nitrogen in it. Peony care also includes making sure that you have cleaned away all foliage when the fall freeze is over.

Peony care involves making sure that grass is not growing near the plant. This makes it difficult for the plant to grow because the root is going to need to grow down through the grass. This will damage the roots of the plant. You can always talk to your nursery staff about how they would recommend keeping grass from growing around the plant. If you are unable to stop this from occurring you are going to need to pull the grass up and keep it from growing in the beds near your plant.

You will want to disbud the peony by pushing the stem sideways and popping the bud off of the base. It is very important that you do this so that you will give more strength to the roots of the plant. You are also helping make your flower grow larger and you are making the stem lighter. This helps keep your plant standing up straight when it rains because it is stronger. As you work on peony care and disbudding, you are most likely going to feel something sticky on your fingers. This is very similar to nectar and it will attract ants to your plant. If you want to bring the plant into the house and you need to get the ants off of it you can flip the plant upside down and shake it or you can rinse the flower lightly in a bucket of water.

In order to prepare for the coming winters you are going to want to cut the plant stems down to the ground. Place all of the clippings into plastic bags for the garbage rather than leaving them on the ground. You do not want any grey mold that could be present spreading to other plants in the garden.